The singer-songwriter market is as crowded as a grocery store on the eve of a hurricane. Even so, artists such as Shannon LaBrie continue to make really good records.

LaBrie's intimate, soulful vocals recall a less self-aware Fiona Apple. With vocal chops to spare, LaBrie is able to elevate good songs (“Lion's Cage,” “Just Be Honest”) into great ones. The musical backing on “Just Be Honest” has an old-school R&B flavor without feeling forced. The direct, Daniel Lanois-esque tones sprinkled throughout “I Remember A Boy” and “Slow Dance” hit the goose bump target with guitar straight out of the Edge's playbook.

“Just Be Honest” isn't all dreamy and ethereal, as the mid-temp funk of “How Does It Feel” and “Getting Tired” effortlessly demonstrate. The album as a whole may have played better if these peppier tracks had been shuffled to an earlier slot on the album, but aside from music critics and music nerds, who listens to whole albums anymore anyway?

The only problem Shannon LaBrie has is that she doesn't fit easily into a mold. The unholy Americana tag might be thrown at her, although she doesn't dress like she just tripped over Tom Joad. Mainstream rock is as dead as a hammer, so she should probably avoid that. Maybe there's room for her in the Norah Jones wing of the adult alternative market.

Wherever LaBrie lands, she has a great album to stand on with “Just Be Honest.” Hopefully she'll be allowed to make another.

Classic album: Mickie Most Years

Artist: The Animals

Label: Real Gone

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Everybody knows The Animals had a massive world-wide hit with “House Of The Rising Sun” in the 1960s, but they also created several albums-worth of the best blues/r&b-influenced rock ever recorded.

Based around the howling vocals of Eric Burdon and fluid organ work of Alan Price, the Animals original 1963-66 run with producer Mickie Most is revelatory. Looking back on it now, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say the Burdon/Price model wasn't an early prototype of what Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek would later cook up for The Doors.

Aside from a few rarities and bonus tracks, the bulk of “The Mickie Most Years” focuses on the albums “The Animals,” “The Animals On Tour,” “Animal Tracks” and “Animalization” — all of which are four to five star releases in their own right. There's a bit of hoodoo regarding which songs were originally on the British releases vs. their American counterparts, but it's inconsequential.

These albums contain “House Of The Rising Sun,” “Baby Let Me Take You Home,” “We Gotta Get Outta This Place,” “Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood,” and the group's masterpiece “Inside Looking Out.” Mixed in with the aforementioned hits, The Animals tear into covers of John Lee Hooker, Sam Cooke and Chuck Berry material that doesn't mimic the originals but are awe inspiring in their own right. To put it bluntly, Eric Burdon could scare the white off rice when he wanted to.

With rare exception, Animals compilations throughout the years have been either ill-conceived or hampered by legal red tape. Even “The Mickie Most Years” has one flaw that keeps it from getting a full five-star rating: The absence of The Animals 1966 album “Animalism.” True, “Animalism” was produced by Tom Wilson and not Most, but it's inclusion is essential to paint a true portrait of the original Animals run.

Until somebody figures out how to pull “Animalism” into the mix, “The Mickie Most Years” is without a doubt the best Animals compilation on the market. Those $10 single-disc “best of” collections at Target and Walmart look enticing, but it would be the equivalent of only looking at the Mona Lisa's forehead. Work through a few lunches and get the real thing.

Jon Dawson's album reviews appear every Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson.@kinston.com. Jon's new book “Counterfeit Sauerkraut & The Weekend Teeth” is now available at the Free Press office and jondawson.com.